February 2016 – Lost In Michigan

Michigan State Parks March Madness Poll 2016

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan State Parks, SP March Madness .

Sunset at Burt Lake State Park

Time for my annual Michigan State Parks March Madness Poll to see what your favorite State Park in Michigan is. I took the list of Parks and Recreational Areas and sorted the list randomly using Random.org. I then broke them up into 16 groups. Pic your favorite from each group and then next week the winners from this round will be paired up and the winners of each poll will move on until we are down to the final pair of parks to determine which is your favorite. Last year Tawas Point State Park took the top honors, and the year before that it was Ludington State Park. Who will win it all this year? you can see the previous years polls HERE

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This round of polls are closed you can vote in the next round HERE

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Sage Public Library in Bay City – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, Michigan Historical Markers .

Henry W. Sage (1814-1897) founded the village of Wenona (later West Bay City) in 1863. A merchant and philanthropist, he was also a founder of the Sage, McGraw & Company sawmill. In 1881 he donated property, building funds and $10,000 for books to West Bay City for its first public library. The structure was built in 1882-1883 at a cost of nearly $50,000. Charles Babcock of Cornell University designed the French Chateauesque-style building, and the local architectural firm of Pratt & Koeppe superintended the construction. The library was dedicated on January 16, 1884, in a ceremony presided over by Cornell’s Moses Coit Tyler. Michigan Supreme Court judges, congressmen and state officials attended. Offering continuous public library service since 1884, the library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

If you love books I hope you will check out the Lost In Michigan book, you can order a copy HERE or on Amazon HERE

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the Omer Masonic Lodge – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Iconic Buildings, Michigan Historical Markers .

This church-like white frame structure with its graceful cupola was built in 1890 as the second Arenac County Courthouse. The first courthouse on this site burned the previous year. Omer had been a part of Bay County until Arenac was organized in 1883 and this city, then a village, became the county seat. Less than a decade later, voters made nearby Standish the county seat. The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the state of Michigan purchased this building in 1893 for the Omer Masonic Lodge; that group and the Order of the Eastern Star still hold meetings here. Surviving the disastrous fire of 1914, which swept through Omer’s business district, this edifice housed the temporary headquarters of several firms. It is one of the city’s oldest buildings.

Dreaming of Summer in February

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Landscapes .

After a warm February weekend, I did not feel like posting a winter pic, so here is a summer sunset from the Sleeping Bear Dunes a few summers ago. I gotta say I earned this pic after climbing my lazy fat rear end up the dune climb. It’s nice to have a break from winter for a little bit but I am behind on getting pics this winter, I have some places I wanted to go to get pics of the snow before the winter ends. Looking at my weather app on my phone it looks like we are supposed to get more snow this week.

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Wahjamega an Odd name with a Tragic History

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

Out near Caro in the Thumb is the town of Wahjamega, that I always thought was a native american name, but the name Wahjamega is an acronym from the initials of three partners who operated a sawmill here: William A Heartt, James A. Montgomery, and Edgar George Avery. The started the mill in 1852 and by 1853 the town was large enough that it was granted a post office the following year and William A. Heartt was the first post master. By 1905 the lumber boom was over and the town’s population declined and the post office was closed.

In 1914 a Farm Colony for Epileptics was Established by the state, and was devoted to the treatment of epilepsy. Much of the original population of the facility was moved from the overcrowded Lapeer State Home for Epileptics. This facility gained some fame later on as it was one of several facilities that was involved in forced sterilizations, known as Eugenics, that took place under Michigan laws from 1914 to the mid 1960’s.

Currently a portion of the buildings are used as the Caro Center mental health facility run by the state, hopefully we are treating patients with more compassion than we did in the past.

If you like this post you will like my book full of interesting stories around Michigan, you can order them from my website HERE or from Amazon HERE

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Memories of Whitefish Point and the Nicest Day

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses .

Rather then bore you with facts about the lighthouse, I figure I would tell you a story about my first trip there back in the mid 90’s. I know it was the mid 90’s because my wife and I had a 92 Ford Explore and an old camper, and were camping in July at Burt Lake State Park. That summer was one of the hottest on record, and while we were there it was almost 100 degrees, ( I think it was literally one of the hottest days on record in Michigan.) I told my wife we need to get away from the heat and go for a drive along with our black lab Woody. Heading north from Indian River and relaxing in the air conditioned comfort of our blue SUV, I was in no hurry to stop and get out into the heat. We ended going all the way to Whitefish point. I remember getting out of the car and the cool breeze from Lake Superior blowing across the parking lot and actually thinking I need a sweatshirt or something. so we walked around and I am sure I took some pics with my old 35mm camera, (maybe I will find the prints someday) and then we went over to the gift shop and I will never forget what she said. ” this is the nicest day we have had here in a long time” and I remember seeing a thermometer on the outside wall of the store saying it was 70 degrees outside. Now fast forward to last winter when I got this pic, and let me tell you, the wind from Lake Superior cut thru me like razor blades from some sort of frozen hell on earth, but I still stopped and got a pic. I must say that no matter what the weather is like, any day in the U.P. is a nice day.

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Chesaning’s Stewart House – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

Leamington and Madeline Stewart built this Queen Anne house in 1895 – 1897. The design was based on Design No. 53 in George F. Barber’s The Cottage Souvenir No. 2, a pattern book published in 1891. Barber advertised the house’s cost at $5,250. Pattern books were popular in the late 1800s as a way to obtain contemporary house plans at bargain prices. An Ontario native, Stewart practiced medicine in Chesaning until his death in 1933.

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The lonely Old Farmhouse on M46

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I drive by this old Farmhouse on M46 near Breckenridge frequently, and I always wonder what its story is. I imagine there was a nice hardworking family living there, and at night they must have sat around the TV watching Jackie Gleason while the house protected them from the harsh Michigan winters. Why TV, because there is remnants of the antenna still on the roof. Its like the digital revolution has passed by, and now the house is just sitting empty waiting for some attention.

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Engine House No. 5, Remarkably it was Moved Brick by Brick

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

Built in 1880 in Grand Rapids, on the bank of the Grand River, Engine House No. 5 served the community with a horse-drawn steam pumper and a hose cart. At the time of her construction, she gleamed in white brick with red courses, towered and turreted in almost Byzantine splendor. When it was built, horse-drawn pumpers would race to the fires eventually the horses were replaced with motorized fire trucks. Sadly on the stations 100th birthday in 1980, she was slated to be torn down. By demolition time, her brick had been painted Tuscan red, most of her decoration covered over with plaster, and her usefulness was at an end. But this once-noble structure wasn’t leveled by a wrecking ball; rather, it was taken apart brick by brick and moved. Today, it rests-restored to her Victorian splendor-in the town of Allendale west of Grand Rapids, and is the Engine House #5 Museum

If you enjoy these little stories of Michigan history check out my Lost In Michigan books which are ON SALE this weekend HERE

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Beauty on the Back Roads

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Winter Wonderland .

I needed to go to Bay City this past week and that day we had some snow, so instead of taking 75 I drove the back roads figuring the highway would be slow going. As I crossed over the expressway I seen the long line of cars and tucks slowly moving along the slushy salt covered roads. After crossing the highway I went thru this expanse of trees covered with the falling snow, and knew I made the right decision. I figure if I am going to have to travel slow, I might as well do it somewhere that I can traverse thru some pure Michigan scenery.

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